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A lot can happen in 24 years. Math department chair Diane DeSantis has dedicated the last 24 years of her life to the Algonquin math community, working hard to develop the AP Statistics program, advise National Honor Society (NHS), and educate her students.

DeSantis was given the opportunity to teach AP Statistics around her fifth year of teaching, and she is proud of what it has become under her guidance.

“I just grew the program and now it’s a well oiled machine,” DeSantis said. “…I’m leaving it in good hands with Ms. Reynolds.”

DeSantis also enjoyed her time spent serving as the adviser of NHS, organizing service projects to help the community.

“[NHS] did the Walk for Hunger,” DeSantis said. “We went into the nursing homes and brought the people flowers in the spring and pumpkins in the fall.”

Because of her role as the head of the department, DeSantis has grown close to her colleagues over the years.

“Being department chair is a lot of responsibility,” DeSantis said. “We have a great department with a lot of great teachers, and we all just take care of each other.”

Her colleagues respect and value her dedication to the subject. Math teacher Sara Liedell, who has been working with DeSantis since 2002, recognizes what she brings to her classes and the department as a whole.

“She’s very passionate about teaching math, which is nice for young teachers to see,” Liedell said. “When they see somebody who’s been teaching it for a long time who still loves to teach it, that’s huge.”

According to Liedell, most students that have had DeSantis enjoyed taking her classes.

“I felt like she had a great teaching method that really fit my style and helped me learn a lot about math,” sophomore Natalie Ng said.

DeSantis is retiring early to spend more time with her husband, who is already retired. They plan to pursue their passion for travelling.

“There is a lot of stuff [my husband and I] want to do, so I wanted to be able to go out while I was still able to do all that fun stuff,” DeSantis said. “My husband’s mantra is ‘you’re dead a long time, and you’re alive a short time.’ We just live by that.”